


sky full of stars (nonsensical things)

by upstead_sails



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 00:40:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30097632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upstead_sails/pseuds/upstead_sails
Summary: A weekend off, finally, and Jay finds himself at Hailey's apartment. But Hailey's parents are out of town for the weekend, and when plans fall through, they need a house-sitter for their new pup. A spacious backyard provides the perfect night for stargazing, a childhood favourite of Hailey's.
Relationships: Hailey Upton and Jay Halstead, Upstead - Relationship
Kudos: 41





	sky full of stars (nonsensical things)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends! Bit of a longer one for me, but I just couldn't get the idea out of my head, and I couldn't seem to stop writing either! Enjoy :)
> 
> Title from Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay (parentheses phrase from YAMH chapter 3)
> 
> (Based on parts of You Are My Home Chapter 3: It Would Be You, I'll link it below in case you'd like to read it before you continue 🤍)
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/29699148/chapters/73953627#workskin

___

I'm lost in the sky like I'm lost in your eyes,

Like when your arm brushes mine ,

Each inch closer erases all the lies.

We're only separated by a fine line,

And not even a thousand skies

Could match that connection, all by design.

After years of this love in disguise,

I'm beginning to see the stars align.

**_See the Stars Align - an original poem, by yours truly._ **

___

Another weekend off rolls in after what feels like the longest strand of armed robberies in Chicagoland history. But, Hailey's settled back home and that's all Jay really cares about. There was no _easing into_ anything between them, it just... appeared. The connection was natural, almost by design. Since that night at  
the Pier two weeks ago, a thousand other heartwarming (and heart-pounding) connections had been made more fluidly than the way her hand slipped into his.

Their usual flow of evenings at Molly's with their coworkers quickly turned into excuses to hurry back to Hailey's apartment. After the worlds longest week, they couldn't imagine anywhere else they'd rather be.

God forbid their work phones would buzz.

___

Three thuds sound on Hailey's door at close to midnight, and it's a wonder she heard it over a movie playing loudly on her TV. Nonetheless, she knows exactly who it is. There's no real schedule or agenda for the two, just "a show up at each others' doors at odd hours and do almost everything but talk" mentality. And then there are those moments, like they'd always had since the beginning of their partnership, where they confide in each other, and another layer of trust is added to their immovable bond.

She drops her phone to the kitchen countertop on her way to the entrance of her apartment. Without hesitation, like it's natural at this point, she swings open the door and leans against the doorpost.

"Midnight on a Friday, bold move." She says, a grin dancing with her dimples. He just shrugs, tilting his head to match her gaze. Her hands graze the waistband of his jeans- she's playing a dangerous game in the not-so-private apartment hallway.

"Clearly, you're protesting my being here." His voice is low, but playful, and when he shifts his stance, a plastic bag crinkles beside him. He saunters in after she steps away from the entrance, an almost failed attempt to hold back from going further right there in the doorway.

"What'd ya bring?" Her voice follows behind him as she eyes the heavy grocery bag in his fist. He doesn't answer directly, he just unloads a container onto her countertop, and Hailey's excited shriek of sorts tells him he did a good thing. Her hands quickly grab ahold of a bottle of her favourite vanilla orange flavoured lager, scurrying to find a can opener in her kitchen drawers.

"Hello weekend off, hello beer haze." His words are intertwined with a chuckle. She hands him one, and like a gentleman, he opens both before they clink bottles. "Yanno" comes her voice after her first sip, "you really do know the way to my heart, right?" She draws closer to him, setting her drink down on the counter. Her hands rest around his waist, locking against his back. There are about a thousand things she could do right now that would end him, and they both know it. Instead, though, her figure rests in the crook of the arm he swung around her, and her head leans against his chest.

It's a mellow, sweet, vulnerable way to start a weekend off, but his arms are at least where they fit best; not readying a rifle or gripping his bullet vest, but cradling her.

After a moment, her chin moves to prop against his chest so she's looking up at him. His lips meet her forehead, and her soft smile greets his gesture. Before he can mutter anything on her skin, though, her feet heighten her to his lips, meeting them with tender anticipation. Her mouth moves to fit his with each adjustment in between cracks of a grin, and yeah, this is one of those things that kills him. In the dim light of her kitchen, with a chick-flick on in the living room, is something out of a Hallmark movie, only not superficial and cheesy.

One resemblance of a Hallmark movie, though, is that it seems too good to be true. It is.

Several vibrates signal from Hailey's phone against the countertop. Silent curses and breathless separations protest the interruption, understandably so. Jay's thumb grazes his lip as she reluctantly reaches for her device. He swallows down the lump in his throat, the one she was probably about to kiss away well into the night. He hears a tinny a voice as she picks up the phone to answer:

_Sweetheart, I know it's late, and I hope I didn't wake you, but-_

"It's fine, mom. Is everything okay? Did you make it to Wisconsin alright?"

_We're fine, but our house sitter called a few hours ago saying a family emergency popped up, and she can't stay at the house with Luna- Oh, right, I guess I haven't told you, your father and I got a puppy! The most adorable ball of energy you've seen- Well, anyway, we scrambled to call someone to no avail. Do you think you could-_

"Do I think I can stay at your house for the weekend?" She finished her mom's sentence, tossing a glance to Jay, who furrows his eyebrows.

_I know, I know, it's not ideal and you have a life, but it's two nights, and we have the fridge and pantry stocked. You would have to head over tonight, is that okay?_

Hailey breathes a sigh, signaling a helpless I-don't-have-many-options look to Jay. He just smiles, nodding kindly. "Y-yeah, that's okay. I'll pack a bag and just crash there, I got you." A sigh and about a thousand ways to say thank you echo over the phone. "Mom, don't worry. I'm a grown woman, I can manage a puppy and my childhood house. Now go, get some sleep and enjoy your weekend away, please. Mhm, love you too. Bye mom." She palms her forehead and leans over the counter after putting her phone down.

"I gotta grab some things, but I gotta head out like now if I don't wanna get murdered for letting the dog eat them out of house and home." She knows Jay heard it all, and even though he's standing there like the sweet, understanding man he is, she can tell a damper's been put on his night. "I'm sorry, Jay, I hate to ruin this weekend like this." She says, but he just draws close to her, a hand brushing her lower arm, then finding her waist.

"First of all, you aren't ruining anything. Second, who says it has to be ruined?" His eyebrows raise, and he gestures to her bedroom.

"You're funny, but, that's my bedroom, and I gotta be like 20 miles from here in 10 minutes if I wanna live to see your face Monday."

His freckled face beams, a chuckle breathing against her forehead. "What I meant was, I have about two pairs of clothes draped around your room, and my toothbrush has yet to leave your sink, so, if you want some company... maybe this weekend could be more than we made it out to be."

She softly blinks at his words, a grateful expression meeting his offer. "You'd really be willing to do that?" He sarcastically scoffs at that, but his smile soon turns tender.

"Like I've said before, I'd follow you anywhere." His lips meet her forehead for just a moment, and she's halfway between melting and wanting to poke at him for being a sap.  
___  
After helping her pack a duffel bag, and tossing a few of his own things in, Jay hops into his truck with Hailey following behind him. She hoists herself into the passenger seat, something he always got a kick out of.

Not long after, his Ram pulls into the gravel driveway of Hailey's childhood home, a modest and old, but cute, red brick structure with a tire swing still fixed to an oak tree in the front yard.

Jay would jab at the place, or sarcastically ask her if she's still attached to her swing, but the air in his truck is heavy with Hailey's almost-audible racing mind. This is the home where she grew up, but lost herself in more times than she can count.

They step onto the front porch, and Hailey fiddles in her jean pocket for her key. They step inside, and the scents of her past hit her like a freight train. She covers well, though, and she sets her duffle bag in the entrance of the guest room, which used to be her room growing up.

Jay watches her stroll slowly through the familiar rooms, and before he can open his lips to check on her, a kennel rattles in the kitchen. Hailey rounds the corner to turn on the lights in the quaint room, a maple-coloured golden-doodle puppy yelping from inside. She stoops to open it, and a heap of fluff intertwines at her legs.

"Oh. My. God. You must be Luna, yes you are! Hello cutie!" Hailey's sweet, high-pitched tone earns a grin from Jay, who hangs his coat before sitting criss-crossed on the tile floor.

"Aren't you a ball of fun, well hey," comes Jay's voice as he excitedly fluffs the pup's maple ears. Her purple collar jingles in his grip, and the little one can't contain her excitement.

"Uh... Jay... she's peeing on your shoe..." Hailey trails off in laughter, and Jay quickly stands, Luna in hand, as he walks towards the back door, cursing silently as he sets the pup in the backyard.

Hailey can barely stop belly-laughing when he peers around the corner, holding up his urine-drenched sneaker. "Not funny." His voice is contradictory, playful.

" _Little_ funny." She debates, standing to look at the backyard through the dining room window. She folds her arms, leaning against the kitchen entrance, watching Jay shoo the pup outside to finish her business.

He peeks his head inside from the door. "Nice yard, the thing's huge." She nods, smiling a little wider at the backyard than at any other part of the house. "Good memories out there- that was my escape with my brothers, especially when things got... loud... at night." She's being gracious with her words, and Jay can tell. He tilts his head, a twinge hitting his chest as he watches her recollect her childhood.

"Yeah? What'd you like to do out there?" He shifts forward attentively. Partially to draw her _away_ from the negative memories, and partially because the more he knows about her, the more he's drawn _to_ her.

She turns toward him, pointing to an area between two trees in the spacious grass. "See that open spot? We'd lay out there, sometimes for hours, and trace the stars with our hands. Sometimes we'd spot constellations like the Little Dipper, and sometimes we'd draw out imaginary things like aliens or spaceships." He smiles at that, picturing a young blonde on the grass, distracting her brothers from the terrors inside these walls.

"C'mon then," he says as his hand brushes hers. Their fingers lock, and he nods toward the yard where Luna lopes around senselessly. She smiles a grateful smile this time. Grateful that he wants to know every detail of her life. Grateful that he's mindful of what _did_ make her childhood good.

Luna bounds over to them, her entire body wiggling with joy. Her puppy attention span doesn't last long, though, and she leaps to a stick, planting herself down to chew it. They both chuckle at the maple energy bomb, now occupied with any dog's favourite toy.

Hailey squats in the exact spot her ten-year-old self spent many evenings, when her ocean blue eyes would roam the sparkling galaxy. Jay slowly lowers himself beside her, reclining on his back, his head propped on one arm. She follows him shortly, her blonde curls falling onto the grass around her.

"Look!" She points at the sky, and his gaze meets her finger to see a shooting star graze the clear horizon. They're both truly mesmerized by the intricate design of the constellations. That is, until Jay tilts his head to the side to observe her moonlit features. 

She's too distracted by the details to notice, and he's content just watching her focused side-profile. It isn't long, though, until she turns her head toward him, and the way he softly blinks in the view of her sends a wave of heat to her heart. "Nonsensical things," she drops quietly. Jay breaths a subtle chuckle of realization as her words from the Pier flood to his mind. 

His hand falls to hers, their fingers locking again.

In his eyes, she's the sky full of stars.

And it's such a heavenly view.


End file.
